Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
V
Naming of Parts
One of the best things about WordPress, in all versions, is that it's largely a volunteer effort.
Automattic only leads the development of the various versions; volunteers handle much of the
heavy lifting of software development, technical support, and more.
Automattic makes all its money from the sale of upgrades to WordPress.com and a few other
efforts. The company had fewer than 20 employees until recently, and only has about 50 employees
as of this writing.
Automattic's light touch is generally welcome; the fact that the company takes on as little as possi-
ble directly encourages the volunteer efforts so necessary to the whole effort. The rock group REM
once made an album called
Automatic for the People
; Automattic is widely seen as being “for the
people” as well.
However, in some ways, the WordPress community could use stronger leadership. The most impor-
tant example might be the naming of the two main versions of WordPress. Poor naming is responsi-
ble for a lot of confusion, a lot of anguished questioning, and, almost certainly, some poor choices
by confused users who start with the wrong version for their needs.
The versions of WordPress don't even actually have real names. The versions are as follows:
•
The easier version to use, at least at first, is the free version of WordPress software for your
blog, hosted for free at Automattic's expense, available on the WordPress.com website. Because
Automattic does the hosting, there's not only no cost, but also very little hassle. This version is
called WordPress.com, but that's not really a name for the service; it's just where you go to
use it.
•
The initial, and still more popular, version of WordPress is free software that you download from
the WordPress.org site. You have to host the software on a web server you have access to or pay
someone to host it for you. (Some hosts do everything you can think of, making this option
almost as easy as WordPress.com; others leave it all to you, or offer a variety of options.) Either
you or the host have to keep the WordPress software updated, manage the database that powers
your blog, and run antispam software. This version is called WordPress.org, but that's not really
its name either; it's just where you—or your host, in some cases—go to get the software.
Automattic and its friends in the WordPress community often refer to WordPress.com as the
“hosted” version, but this is a useless description; all WordPress blogs are hosted by someone, and
many WordPress.org users don't deal directly with hosting at all, except for writing a check. What
the description of WordPress.com as “hosted” really means is hosted for free by Automattic. That,
however, just begs the question of what Automattic is, and demands further understanding of its
relationship with the large and powerful community around WordPress.
This is an example of the myopia that the technically savvy often have with regard to how things
look for the rest of the world. It's quite easy for WordPress.org users to understand the split
between the versions and to deal with the confusing naming because they spend a lot of time with
the software and are technically expert enough to understand the details. However, current and
prospective WordPress.com users, as well as outsiders to the WordPress community, often find the
difference very confusing.
